Foreshortening and Other Concerns

There's a lot of weird stuff going on in this drawing, but I think it was important to try and tackle this pose. It is strange how the proportions of a figure change when they shift positions. When learning to draw accurately, you are taught to ignore what you "know" and rely more on what you see. This can cause a bit of a conflict when your brain is attempting to correct your drawing.

I wish I had more time to correct some of the strange proportions, work on the face, fill in the hair and finish the legs (maybe add in the little dog she is looking at in the original photo) - but that is the nature of these exercises. I have only the time I am given to capture what is in front of me. Maybe this photo will come up again. More likely, I will get to use what I learned on a similar pose.

Comments

A Competent Profile

As I start to become more familiar with proportions and measurements for the various faces I attempt to draw, I am starting to wonder how to make a more complete portrait with my limited time. Do I stick to lines? Do I bring a brush and some ink? Which lines should I include? Which shapes are important to represent? Maybe this is a good time to look at the work other artists have done and try to work out some of their methods.

Ferret

Trying out a challenge to myself - to create "finished" pieces with a limited color palette on a consistent schedule. I am still working out the final guidelines. I think I would like to challenge myself to use a new texture in each piece as well. I've had this unfinished sketch in my sketchbook forever. Even though I'm not entirely happy with it - it feels great to finally have it done!

Rules and requirements (mostly for me)

Initially, I was taking a look at my scanner for the maximum dimensions of a painting. I realize now that archiving paintings is a bit more involved than posting 300x300 pixel GIFs. So, some of these pieces will need to be photographed. Others will be scanned (provided the paper doesn't curl too badly). Here is the rough draft of my proposed project: I will create 2-3 finished watercolor pieces every week for the year 2014 The minimum dimensions for each piece will be 4x6" (no maximum) Materials list: Watercolor paint (in tubes or cakes), watercolor pencils, brushes, India Ink, bamboo pen, white gouache, and gold paint pen. Subject matter will change with every painting. I know there is a lot a person can learn from painting the same subject over and over, but this is not that project. New paintings will be posted on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Expect extra posts to occur between those days. Since the whole purpose of this project is to learn, I plan on reading and resear...

Rainbow Bisque

Search This Blog